Vicky Jiménez Kasintseva Falls in Madrid Open First Round to Petra Marcinko 6-0, 7-5

Andorran tennis player Vicky Jiménez Kasintseva exited the Mutua Madrid Open in the first round on Tuesday, falling 6-0, 7-5 to Croatia's Petra Marcinko in one hour and 25 minutes.

The world No. 115, who received a wild card into the main draw, faced a strong opponent in the 20-year-old No. 74. Marcinko arrived in form after reaching the semifinals of the Oeiras Challenger in Portugal, while Jiménez had suffered early defeats in Miami, Linz, and Stuttgart—her fourth consecutive first-round loss at this level.

Marcinko took control from the start, exploiting Jiménez's erratic play and six double faults to secure a decisive 6-0 first set. Jiménez mounted a fightback in the second, breaking early to lead 2-0 and holding the advantage until 4-3. She then dropped serve, allowing Marcinko to level at 4-4. As the set headed toward a tiebreak with Marcinko leading 6-5, Jiménez earned a 0-30 return point, but the Croat recovered to convert her second match point.

The loss has dropped Jiménez outside the top 100, nearing No. 120 in the WTA rankings. This slump follows a career high of No. 89 just weeks ago, after strong runs including quarterfinals at the Mérida WTA 500—where she beat No. 47 Magda Linette—and a main-draw win over Naomi Osaka at Indian Wells.

Such ups and downs have marked Jiménez's career, from No. 121 in 2022 to No. 303 at the end of 2023. Observers note her talent and fight, particularly in competitive phases like Madrid's second set, but highlight the need for greater consistency to sustain progress at the elite level.